Seven Days in Paradise
by krissyg927
Summary: A girls vacation in New Orleans with Carol, Tara, Andrea and Michonne. What could be bad? AU no ZA. Caryl.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This is not going to be a long story, but I was getting sentimental over my favorite place in the world and wishing for the millionth time I could move there. So here we are. There is a brief mention of cancer. Very brief. Just a warning for anyone who might need it._**

 ** _Review me!_**

This vacation was long overdue.

Carol hadn't been on a vacation with her girlfriends since they were in college. Today, she and her sorority sisters hopped on flights to New Orleans from their prospective states, and were taking the vacation of a lifetime.

The smell of New Orleans was making her feel young and free. It was springtime and the flowering trees were just starting to bloom.

They had graduated almost ten years ago and had not seen much of each other since.

It was a kind of a reunion, they had all drifted apart for a time after college. There were four of them all scattered across the country, living their lives now.

Tara was in New York working for a small newspaper, and writing a book. Living with her girlfriend Alisha in Greenwich Village. Andrea was a lawyer in Ohio, a famous prosecutor in her state, single and happy to be that way.

Michonne was in California, happily married to her husband Rick for nine years and they had two kids, twins Carl and Judith. She taught at Berkley, anthropology and woman's studies.

Carol was living in a small beach town in New Jersey, where she grew up. She ran the local library and taught out of towners how to surf in the summer. She had a boyfriend she wasn't sure she loved, and a desire to see all she could see while she was still young enough to do it.

They had a week together. A week to catch up and to have some fun. In memory of a lost friend.

Their fifth sorority sister Lori had passed away from breast cancer six months ago, a cruel reminder that life was short. Her husband Shane was never going to get over it, but the girls were going to honor Lori, by seeing more of each other and remembering her.

The four friends had missed each other so much, Facebook was good but this was going to be so much better.

Carol had done all the research for this trip and Tara had made all the arrangements. Everyone else just had to show up.

It wasn't Mardi Gras time, but Carol knew it would still be filled with all the boisterousness and laughter no matter when they went. That's how New Orleans was, she had been there once before and knew a little bit about the area. That was how her girlfriends were too, Tara was already talking about what they could do to get beads.

Andrea wanted no part of that endeavor, but Michonne might if she had enough drinks in her. Carol had already done it the last time she was in New Orleans, but she didn't tell her friends that.

Tara had booked them into The Hotel De Le Monteleone in the Marigny District on Esplanade Ave., a few blocks from Bourbon St. The hotel was supposed to be quaint and have old world charm.

Carol didn't care where they stayed, she was just glad to be away from Ed, his drinking was getting out of hand again.

He spent too much time at Jenkinson's and Martell's, the local bars on the boardwalk, where they lived. He acted like such a kid sometimes. She was tired of it, tired of him.

She needed to just break up with him, they had been dating for seven years and lived apart.

There was a time when she wanted so badly for him to propose, now she was afraid he would.

A week away was just what she needed. She was going to use this trip to think all of that through. It was probably over and she wasn't sad about it at all.

The girls were going to meet at the hotel and Carol got there first of course, it was a beautiful day in May. Her cellphone was charged so she dropped her luggage off at the hotel and decided to take a walk. Maybe check out an art gallery or go to Café du Monde, maybe the Oyster Bar. She was happy just to be there.

She was walking down the street, listening to Zachary Richard 'Colinda' on her IPod, trying to get into that New Orleans state of mind. Looking around and taking in the sights, she wasn't really paying attention to where she was.

Maybe she needed to switch to Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil, now that was some authentic Cajun music. She stopped on the side walk to scroll her IPod and find the song she wanted.

Daryl didn't see the woman on side walk because he was distracted and late for work. He also had an IPod in his ears so if she had called to him, he wouldn't have heard her. She didn't see him anyway, she was looking down at the iPod.

He had never run into someone with his bike before, luckily he wasn't going that fast. Still, they both ended up on their asses. His back pack flew off dumping his books all over the place.

Carol had not been in New Orleans for two hours and already she got run over by some nut on a bike. She had to laugh, this was just the kind of thing that happened to her. She attracted this kind of thing.

In fact it had happened in Amsterdam too, just after college. She had been coming out of one of the huka joints over there with her friend Sasha and got plowed over by some guy in a big hurry. But that guy flipped her off and kept going.

This guy almost killed himself apologizing and helping her up. He was strong, he pulled her up like she was light as a feather. He must have had a lot of upper body strength, he was all arms and shoulders.

She just laughed, she hadn't been hurt, and it just seemed like a funny way to start a vacation.

He must have apologized ten times and looked her over to make sure she was ok before he even paid attention to his banged up elbow and forearm. She assured her she was fine as she wiped dirt off her jeans.

The first words he said to her let her know she was for sure in New Orleans.

"I'm so sorry cher."

Oh Jesus, he was a local, he had the Cajun/creole accent that made women drool, herself included.

He was probably still in his twenties, she guessed, with dark blonde hair, not too long not too short.

"It's ok, it was an accident, and I'm fine really. Are you ok, your arm?"

"I'm fine sugar, don't you worry about me." He smiled at her showing the most adorable dimples Carol had ever seen. He had a mole on his upper lip too, it was a shame he was so young.

Daryl looked at the pretty red head, she was cute but this was no way to meet women. She was being a really good sport about it but he still felt like shit. He had been in a hurry because it was Friday night and the bar he worked at did a lot of business, even before the sun went down.

But he should have been looking where he was going, next semester he wasn't taking any classes in Fridays. It was always a problem in one way or another.

Carol bent down and picked up one of the books that flew out of his back pack, it was an art book with a picture of a work by Wassily Kandinsky on it.

"Oh, you like Kandinsky, hmmm." She said handing it to him.

"Actually, I hate Kandinsky, this is a book for a class, not my taste. You?" He put the book back in his backpack.

"I like him, very abstract."

"He sucks." He said giving her a smile that lazily creeped over his face and went right to his twinkling blue eyes. There were those dimples again. "I'm Daryl."

He held out his hand and she took it to shake, he had a working man's hands.

"Carol."

"It's a pleasure." He held her hand a little longer than she expected. "Terribly sorry for the way we met. Can I make it up to you sometime?"

He was way too young to be hitting on her, she thought to herself. She was thirty five if he was twenty seven that would be a miracle, he certainly wasn't anywhere near thirty. But he was very easy on the eyes and it was ok to look. But only look and she would let him down easy.

He still held her hand and he made a sweep over her knuckles with his thumb. Then he looked up at her through his bangs, and she thought 'He's just a boy'. But his eyes, the way he looked at her, made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time.

"It's ok Daryl, really." She said shaking her head, while her mind was telling her to say yes.

He shrugged, "Ok if you change your mind, I'll be riding past here every day, come on out. I'll be looking where I'm going from now on, hoping to see you."

And he winked at her as he got back on his bike.

"Hoping you change your mind cher."

And he was gone riding his bike up the street. She turned and started back for the hotel, her friends would be there soon.

/

"So you got rear ended by a cute guy already." Tara said as they were checking into the hotel. "I'm impressed."

"A very young cute guy." Carol replied as Andrea and Michonne came up with their suitcases as well. "Too young to be hitting on me."

"What's this?" Andrea said, lifting her suitcases.

"Carol met a guy, he asked her out, kind of and she said no, like a dummy." Tara replied.

They all had their suitcases and were walking down the hall to their rooms. Andrea and Michonne in one Tara and Carol in another across the hall.

"Are you forgetting we are only here for a week, and there's Ed." She said unlocking the door and all four of them walked into her and Tara's room.

"Oh this is nice." Michonne said, leaving her suitcase with Andrea's at the door.

"All, I'm saying is, put a tie on the door knob if I need to go to their room." Tara said as Carol fell back on the bed. "I'm ok with it."

"He's in college for crying out loud, so what is he twenty four at best?" She said. "No thank you, I have a grown up baby at home."

"Oh please, you need to get rid of him already. Maybe a little fling might ease you into it." Andrea said. "Get your feet wet again, you know?"

They all laid on their backs on one of the big fluffy beds. This room was beautiful, Tara had done well.

Carol shook her head and Tara's head was right next to Carol's, then Michonne and Andrea.

"It isn't going anywhere, and you don't want it to anyway." Michonne said.

"Hey." Tara sat up. "Didn't you say he rides his bike past here every day?"

"That's what he told me, and forget it." Carol said. "I won't be here that time, on any day we are here."

"You are no fun. What ever happened to Laissez les bon temps rouler?"

"Look who's talking." Andrea said.

"Hey, Alicia said not to shake my tits for beads, that's all. I'm down for anything else."

Andrea sat up and ran her hand through her hair. It was late in the afternoon and they had all been traveling all day.

"I'm hungry, where are we going to eat?" Andrea said.

/

They went out to a local restaurant and binged on crawfish etouffee and shrimp creole. They had decided to walk where ever they went so they could look around and get a feel for the area. Tomorrow they would go to Bourbon St.

Tonight they were staying in Faubourg Marigny, exploring their neighborhood for the next week. They walked and talked about their lives. This was such a good idea, and they decided that it was not going to be ten years again. They would do a trip every couple of years to keep in touch with each other better than they had. They talked about going on a cruise next time.

Loosing Lori had changed them all, how they thought about life and work and free time. You had to make time for things that were good in life. This was very good.

They wandered into a bar called The Spotted Cat on Frenchman St., not too far from their hotel and sat down at a table together. There was live music and there were people all around them, this was just what they had imagined New Orleans to be. It was a loud and rowdy place and the music was excellent.

The atmosphere was just what you would think of a jazz club. They hadn't even gone to Bourbon St. yet either.

While the girls had their heads together talking a drink was placed on the table in front of Carol. It looked like a Hurricane. It was pink and in the traditional glass they were served in.

Carol was about to say to whoever it was that she didn't order it, then she took notice of the scraped up forearm.

"This one's on me Cher, it's the least I can do."

She looked up at him, he was a bartender, which was clear by his apron. As her friends watched, she smiled at him.

"I don't know if I can accept a drink from someone who doesn't like Kandinsky." She said, not wanting to flirt with him, but not able to help herself.

He smiled that smile again. "Where do you stand on Van Gough?"

 ** _A/N: The Spotted Cat is a real place, it is in walking distance of the hotel I have them at, but it's about a mile away. I walked it a few times, but maybe I'm a little crazy._**

 ** _It's music club favored by local talent and they have cash bar. An employee probably wouldn't deliver a drink to someone at a table, so I took some liberties with this. I also took some liberties with The Spotted Cat, because it's been a long time since I have been there. So shoot me, I wanted it my way, as always._**

 ** _A Hurricaine is a famous New Orleans drink, made famous by another bar the girl's might go to Pat O' Brien's on St. Peter St. in The French Quarter._**

 ** _Café du Monde makes the best coffee in New Orleans and you can order it online._**

 ** _'_** ** _Laissez les bon temps rouler', is a common New Orleans phrase and is associated with New Orleans and it means 'Let the good times roll.'_**

 ** _Cher is a term of endearment used often in New Orleans and it is used by men and women, imagine it with a creole French accent. Yumm._**

 ** _Faubourg means neighborhood or suburb._**

 ** _I have a love hate relationship with Kandinsky's art, some of it I love and some not so much._**

 ** _All in all I prefer Van Gough. Who do you like?_**

 ** _You know I want to know what you think. So let me know._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_You are like a hurricane, there's calm in your eyes. And I'm getting blown away._**

 **** ** _Neil Young- Like a Hurricane_**

Andrea turned to her, and her eyes were wide. That was the bicycle guy? How the hell had she said no to him with his hard body and sexy accent. He had it all going on, sex on two legs and she had said no? All because he was a few years younger?

Carol was either crazy or….crazy.

"That's the guy?" She whispered as he walked away and went back to work at the bar. "He can run into me anytime."

Tara jumped in. "He is seriously hot, holy cow Carol, and for me to say that you know the person is scorching, meow."

"He is seriously young." Carol said, shaking her head, but nobody was listening to her. She didn't care that he was all arms and shoulders, just what she liked. He was too young period.

"And seriously wants to bang you. He looked at you like he wanted to eat you for dinner. I'm not going to wait up tonight." Tara said.

"Tara. It's not happening." She said sipping her drink. "Go for it Andrea."

Andrea shook her head. "Something tells me I'd strike out big time with him. You on the other hand…"

Carol shot her an evil look and rolled her eyes, all in fun, but definitely getting her point across.

Michonne came back with drinks for Andrea, Tara and herself.

"Why not, it not like you're going to marry him." Andrea said. "Why can't you have a fling on vacation?"

"Because Carol doesn't do that." Michonne said sitting down and passing out the drinks. "Daryl said hi by the way Carol."

She said stifling a snicker. They watched as her face turned red as a beet, mission accomplished. Advantage Michonne, Carol zero.

"You guys are awful, he's just a kid."

"He's twenty six." Michonne said, and laughed as Carol's eyes got big.

"You asked him?" She said incredulously.

Michonne nodded giving her one of her award winning smiles.

"Damn right I did. Grad student at Tulane, Art, but you know that part already." Michonne smiled. "Says he's into older women."

Carol's face turned even redder, she could not believe them.

"I made that last part up." Michonne said. "But he's staring at you, so I'd say I'm not wrong."

Carol turned around and he was looking at her with those blue eyes so clear and soulful. She felt her heart start to race. It scared her, when was the last time someone affected her like that? A long time, maybe never.

This was not like her, she was a librarian from New Jersey, and the most exciting thing she did was surf. Looking at him made her feel like she was carrying her long board down the boardwalk, hearing the waves crashing in the distance.

That anticipation and adrenaline rush a surfer got when the waves were rolling. But there were no waves and she was going to crawl right out of her skin.

"We have to go."

Carol took a gulp of her drink. She had to get out of there, the room was suddenly too small and too warm. She felt dizzy and claustrophobic like she was going to have an anxiety attack.

"Seriously, let's go. I need to go."

 ** _'_** ** _/_**

She was jogging down Bourbon St. the next morning towards Jackson Square, the anxiety from last night slowly leaving with each step she took. She didn't sleep well last night and she hauled herself out of bed at the crack of dawn for a run. Before anyone else got up.

Most nights they closed Bourbon St. to traffic and people just milled around going from bar to bar. She imagined someone must stay up all night cleaning because it was spotless right now. Tonight she and her friends would be walking this street, sipping hurricanes' and bar hopping. Doing the tourist thing.

Now it was quiet and beautiful as the sun was coming up over the city.

Jackson Square was more her style, but she would go to Bourbon St. with her friends tonight and show them around. Everyone had to have that experience once in their life.

In the afternoon there local artists sat in the square and painted. She wondered if he did that, Daryl, was he an artist? He was an Art major she knew, but did he paint or sculpt. What kind of art did he create?

She had to stop thinking about him. She wasn't here to meet a man. She had done the right thing leaving last night, hadn't she?

He was still in Grad school, she was way past that.

She wondered if he was working tonight, and if it would be weird to go there after she left last night.

Maybe she would, to apologize for being so rude.

She jogged past the Omni Royal on St Louis Street and onwards to Jackson Square.

She stopped at the steps of The St. Louis Cathedral and sat down to catch her breath. This was a long run, but she felt so exhilarated now. This was a beautiful city, the last time she had been here was before Katrina. They had repaired and rebuilt well.

She remembered sitting in New Jersey crying about hurricane Katrina as she watched it unfold on her television. And then a few years later hurricane Sandy devastated her own hometown. She knew what this city had been through and she smiled because it had made it back.

Just like Point Pleasant Beach, where she had been born and raised had.

She was going to cut down Pirate's Alley and head back to the hotel. But first, a few minutes to look at the empty square. Talk to Lori a little bit, tell her how much they missed her and wished she was with them. Maybe if the cathedral was open she could go light a candle for Lori and her Dad, but she remembered reading that it wasn't open except at certain times.

She missed her father so much, yesterday was his birthday. He was gone five years now and she felt that loss every day. Life was short, you had to take every good thing you were given while you still could.

"You left in a hurry last night cher."

His voice brought her out of the thoughts and she looked up. Daryl was standing in front of her like an apparition. She had just been thinking of him, Lori, and her father as well. Now he stood in front of her.

She shielded her eyes looking up at him, like she wasn't surprised at all to see him.

This city was purported to be haunted, it was a big draw for tourists. She had no doubt right now. It was haunted in a good way.

"Too much traveling I think, I felt closed in."

"Can I sit?" He motioned for the steps and she nodded. He sat down next to her and she noticed he smelled really good. She was quite sure she didn't since she had just jogged over a mile to get there.

He took care not to sit too close to her and she appreciated that. He had paid attention to what she just said about feeling closed in.

"I thought it was you when you jogged past me back on St. Louis, and I was coming this way. I'm glad it was you."

She pushed her hair out of her face and smiled at him.

"I guess, we're just going to run into each other this whole week I'm here."

"Then don't fight it, and don't break my heart again."

He put his hand to his chest in a gesture of pain and she really smiled. He was a sweet talker.

"You use that line on all the tourists?" She asked, sure that he did.

He shook his head and stood up holding his hand up to her.

"Come on." He said as she took his hand and he helped her up.

"Where are we going?"

"Where else do you go at eight am in New Orleans?"

He said as they walked across the square headed for the best café au lait in town.

/

They sat at one of the outdoor tables at Café du Monde and she had texted Tara to say where she was so no one had worried about her. She told them she had run into Daryl and where they went, she didn't know him after all, not that well anyway.

Tara sent her back a thumbs up emoji and a smiley. She was the comic of their group and back in the day at college she had been behind more than a few pranks. She was probably already banging on Andrea and Michonne's door to tell them this news.

They sat and talked, she told him about New Jersey and the topic of course went to the two hurricanes that each of them had lived through miles and years apart from each other. They had that in common living through a disaster. It changed you profoundly and made you grateful. She remembered how grateful she was between, losing her father, Lori and living through those quiet scary days after Sandy.

He had been born in Metairie, a suburb outside New Orleans, but now he lived in the French Quarter with his older brother. His brother Merle ran the Omni Royal on St. Louis and that's where Daryl had been coming from that morning when Carol ran past him.

His brother was a well-known businessman in New Orleans who had a large hand in the rebuilding effort. He was ten years older than Daryl and had raised him when their parents were killed in a car accident out by Lake Pontchartrain. Merle had been in college at the time, majoring in business and working at the Omni already. He was ambitious and worked hard for what he had.

He took Daryl to live with him, sold the house in Metairie and finished college. Now his brother was at Tulane as well, and Merle's chest filled with pride that he went to the same school.

"I can take your friends and you out tonight, show you around?" He was saying to her.

"No, I can't let you do that."

"Why not." He asked.

"Arent you working tonight?"

"I only work Fridays."

She would not have found him there if she had gone back tonight, but he was here now.

"I want to cher, dinner at the best place in town, crawfish and all, I'll show you how to suck the heads."

He grinned at her in a non-threatening way and his eyes lit up with mischief. They both laughed and she realized she hadn't laughed like this in a long time.

Every man in this town made that joke about the way to eat crawfish, Carol had heard it at least fifteen times her last time here. She wasn't angry she had kind of expected it.

She looked over at him, gratitude for life, no regrets starting right now. It was a beautiful day and she was alive.

She was sipping delicious chicory coffee and eating beignets with a really sweet man, who went out of his way to make her laugh.

"I'll check with the girls, but I already know how to eat them, I've been here before." She smiled at him quirking her eyebrow.

She was going to make him work for it and that made him incredibly attracted to her right from the jump.

"Been on a ghost tour, my buddy Tyreese runs a great one through the cemetery, you can leave an X on Marie Laveau's grave."

She smiled. "Been there."

"Voodoo museum?'

She nodded. She had done all that stuff before, if he was persistent enough, she would do them again. She just wasn't telling him that.

"So I guess you'll make me work for it then? I'm up for the challenge. How do impress a beautiful girl from New Jersey?" He said. "Don't worry cher, I'll think of something."

He walked her all the way back to her hotel and by that time they had exchanged phone numbers. He would text her later to find out if the girls minded him tagging along tonight. He kissed her cheek in front of the hotel, just up the street from where he ran into her yesterday, and watched her walk inside.

Then he turned and started walking towards the seventh ward, there was something he had to do.

 ** _A/N: Hurricane Sandy dropped three trees on my house and flooded my town, I was in New Orleans two months before hurricane Katrina, and I did sit and cry watching what happened on the news._**

 ** _I have no idea if Tulane has a business or art program, I made it up._**

 ** _You can't leave an X or even get near Marie Laveau's grave anymore I understand, but there was a time when you could. The X was for protection and to be granted a wish._**

 ** _Jogging from Esplanade Ave to Jackson square almost killed me and Bourbon St. was clean as a whistle at 7am._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: The B word is here briefly. Briefly. Just a prop for the story._**

"You going out with Beth tonight?"

Merle asked as he watched Daryl trying to tie his tie. He shook his head as he struggled to get it right as usual. Merle was better at doing ties, Daryl just never got the hang of it. He wasn't a tie guy like Merle anyway. He was a jeans and T-shirt guy. Merle was the suit in the family.

"Broke it off this morning."  
Merle turned to him quite surprised. "Bet that little gold digger didn't like that. Did she?"

"No, she didn't." He laughed. "Threw a knock off Ming vase at me. And a Star Wars plate."

"Why'd you do it?" Merle asked, genuinely curious. "Not that I'm complaining, never did like her."

Daryl took the tie off, he couldn't get it right, so his four dates were just going to have to deal with him without it. He started digging through a drawer looking for a shirt.

"Met someone."

"That so, brother."

He nodded to Merle.

"Where at the club? Or school."

"Yesterday on the street on Esplanade. Then she was at The Cat last night, I'm gonna marry her."

"Oh really." Merle said. "You date miss bubble head for a year and a half and not so much as mention anything like this, no matter how many hints that bitch dropped, and now you met someone yesterday and you're marrying her?"

He nodded. Something told Merle he was serious or thought he was.

"You're serious?"

Daryl nodded. "Mmmhmm. When you know you know."

"Really? Does she know ya'll is getting hitched? Should I be getting Oscar to draw up a prenup?" Merle was joking but not really, there was a lot at stake.

Daryl was worth almost as much as Merle. Their parents had left an insurance policy for their boys and Merle had turned it into a fortune.

"She will soon."

"Look Daryl, seriously…"

"She's not from here, she doesn't know who we are or about the money. She actually blew me off last night, and almost did today too. I don't think that's ever happened. I liked it. Once a girl hears my last name they fall all over me, you know, same happens to you."

"She's on vacation?"

He nodded.

"I think you lost your mind is what I think."

"Maybe so." Daryl threw the tie on his bed.

"She cute?'

"Beautiful."

"You going to Galatoire's?"

"Mmmhmm."

"I'm calling Oscar, bring this girl around tonight before dinner, drinks on the house. For my future sister in law." He said laughing and breaking into a huge grin. "I need to see the girl that's got you all twisted up."

"Well, it's not just going to be two of us, she's here with three friends."

"You're going out with four women tonight?" He cocked an eyebrow at him." Whew, brother and here I am working for a living."

"What's your point?" He said laughing.

"Better call Axel and tip him off or he'll be calling you Mr. Dixon and shit, blowing your cover."

"She thinks I'm a poor bartender, she didn't want me to pay for her coffee this morning. I never had a woman ask to pay. Merle, do you even know what it's like to have someone like you, for you. Not because of your money."

"No, I don't actually, maybe I need to get on down to The Cat and mingle like you do, what do you think?"

Daryl shrugged.

"You know it's all over once she googles you."

/

"So I googled him Carol." Tara said. "You better sit down."

Carol was putting on some make up and perfume. She had on jeans and a tank top. They were going out casual. Daryl had texted her after his debacle with his tie and said not to dress up too fancy.

"What is he a serial killer? That would be just my luck." She said putting on mascara.

"He's half owner of the swankiest hotel in town second wealthiest man in New Orleans, ask me who the first is."

Carol sat down on the bed in shock, why was he bartending? Why was he in college? He was like the Hilton of New Orleans.

"I'm afraid to…."

"His brother, who owns the other half of the Omni Royal Hotel."

"I jogged past there this morning…"

Andrea and Michonne busted in just then all dressed up and flopped on the bed.

"There's a pool on the roof and it says here they each have penthouse rooms there."

"Why is he bartending?"

Michonne and Andrea sat up and asked what the hell was going on now.

"Um Carol's boyfriend is loaded." Tara said.

"He's not my boyfriend." Carol said.

"He is this week." Andrea said.

"I'm not going." She said reaching for her phone. "I'm texting him."

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, knowing it was him letting her know he was downstairs.

"Dammit."

She grabbed her phone and purse.

/

She walked right up to him in the lobby of the hotel. He knew right away that she was pissed and frankly he never had a woman get pissed at him except for Beth this morning. Most women walked on eggshells with him, afraid to risk being pushed off the money train. He saw her three friends coming behind her, but they were hanging back.

She knew. Time to do damage control if he could. He shrugged at the other girls.

"Carol." He said. "Wait sugar."

"Don't sugar me."

She walked right past him and out the door. He followed after her and found her sitting on the steps, so he sat down next to her. He took out a pack of cigarettes and offered her one as he lit up.

"Oh great you smoke too?" She said laughing.

"I never said I didn't and I never said…." He took a drag and blew it out the side of his mouth. "It was nice." He shrugged. "You didn't expect anything."

"Is that why you bartend, to slum?" She asked not really thinking that, but not really understanding.

"To hide. Everyone at school knows who my brother is…this whole town does. Sometimes I just want to be a bartender."

She got that. He probably didn't have many friends that he could trust, real friends like she had. She felt bad for him a little.

"Do you know how old I am?"

He shook his head. "Don't care really." He took another drag of his cigarette.

"I'm 35."

"I don't care Carol, you wanted to know me, with no expectations, do you care about my age?" He threw the cigarette in the street and turned to look at her.

"I leave on Friday."

"Today is only Saturday." He said. "But you didn't answer me."

"I did care, but not anymore." She said. "I enjoyed talking to you this morning, I was judging you, because of your age and then about your money. I figured that out about two seconds after I flounced past you."

"We good then." He stood up as she nodded and he looked down at her. "Hey come here."

He took her hand and pulled her up to him and spinned them around.

"You know how to two step."

"Not really."

He continued to spin her around. Tara, Andrea and Michonne walked up to the door and stood there watching.

"That's ok, gonna teach you tonight."

/

Andrea and Tara stood at the bar in the second bar they went to on Bourbon St. watching Daryl and Carol dancing around the wooden dancefloor. 'Two Princes' by The Spin Doctors was on and he was spinning her around in some kind of twostep dance. She was laughing and smiling and they danced well together.

"Guess she's not mad at him anymore." Tara said walking up as they all watched.

"He's a good dancer." Andrea nodded towards them and he was spinning her around again. "He made me dizzy, I don't know how he does that."

They had all gone out to dinner at his favorite place on Bourbon St. where they dined on crawfish in three different recipes. The head waiter at the restaurant knew Daryl. A man by the name of Axel and he made sure they had everything they would want.

Now they were making their way down Bourbon St. and it was a typical crazy Saturday night. Wall to wall people. Everyone was drinking and having a good time so far.

The girls were glad they had a guy with them actually. They had already been accosted by a few drunk guys and one guy who invited them to a private party at "The Dungeon." Which Daryl shook his head vigorously to and moved them into the nearest bar.

That was the last bar they were at and he was taking turns dancing with all of them, but spent the most time with Carol.

Michonne was texting Rick because they actually went out dancing often and she did know how to do the two step and dancing it made her miss her husband.

"I dunno 'Chonne she looks really happy." Tara said still watching them spin around the dancefloor. "I think it's on."

Then he kissed her.

"Yeah it's on." Andrea said.

 ** _A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and fav, I love you all. This chapter had to answer some questions, get through some back ground. Now for some good stuff next chapter._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and told me how much they love New Orleans. I really appreciated that. It is my favorite place in the world and I am constantly plotting ways to get back there._**

 ** _Thank you Lily for letting me know I made a boo boo about Carol's age. I appreciate that too. Nobody is perfect, least of all me._**

 **** ** _Gratuitous song lyrics in this chapter. I tried not to but…_**

 ** _Act nice, act nice and gentle with me._**

 **** ** _Act Nice and Gentle- by The Black Keys_**

The girls took turns dancing with Daryl for a good part of the night, each getting to know him a little. He wasn't what they expected and they all at one time or another gave Carol a thumbs up about him. He was not typical for someone his age and they noticed it.

Carol had noticed that too, and was giving him thumbs up too.

He received a text from Merle bitching him out for not bringing 'His Fiancée' over to meet him too. And he texted him back saying don't wait up.

He was dancing with Andrea when 'Act Nice and Gentle' by The Back Keys came on and he nicely told her he needed to go find his girl. So as Andrea walked back to Tara and Michonne she said one thing, "She aint coming back with us tonight, I guarantee it."

"He's a good dancer." Michonne said nodding towards them, he held her so close and was whispering in her ear. She had her hands on his chest and was laughing and putting her forehead on his. "You know what they say, good on the dancefloor, and good in the sack."

"And good for her. Tell her we're getting a cab or something, don't give her a choice." Tara said. "What else are friends for?"

/

 ** _I wanna taste love and pain. Wanna feel pride and shame._**

 ** _I don't wanna take my time, don't wanna waste one line._**

 **** ** _Could Have Been Me- by The Struts_**

Daryl took Carol's hand as they walked through the crowd on Bourbon Street and towards Esplanade. It was a typical Saturday night with people being rowdy and crazy, till they got a few blocks away from Bourbon St. then it settled down for a quit walk and more talking.

They were making plans for the next day, deciding what tour to take and if they should go look for the house that writer lived in. The one who wrote all those vampire books Andrea read till they were worn out. Daryl knew where that house was.

They were almost back to the hotel.

On a map it looked like a small walk, but it wasn't when you were actually walking it. It was at least a half hour walk from Bourbon St, to their hotel.

He would not let them take a cab.

He was walking the girls back to their hotel and it was after midnight. He was also trying to figure out how to ask Carol to come to his place. He didn't want to assume anything and scare her off.

Tara was on the phone with Alicia telling her about all the sights on Bourbon St. all the men on the balconies calling to every woman they saw. That was typical any night of the week in this town.

'Yes, there were women flashing their tits for beads.'

'No, none of us did it. No, not even Carol, yes I know she did it before.'

And then Daryl stopped short and looked at her. He was dumbfounded by that piece of information. She had told him she had been here before. He didn't know she was such a free spirit.

"Did ya get a lot of beads last time hmmm?" He asked her breaking into a smile that lit up his eyes.

This girl lit up his eyes, she lit up everything. More than all the lights on Bourbon St. he was finding out.

"Throw me some beads, mister." She whispered.

He was glued in that spot and couldn't move.

She smiled and raised one eyebrow at him. Then she grabbed ahold of her shirt like she was going to lift it up and smiling more. Andrea, Tara and Michonne were behind her, not really paying attention to what was going on, and they were still walking. Tara was still on the phone.

She shook her hips slowly and Daryl looked at her like she was the last drink of water in a long hot desert. But then he came to his senses, this wasn't how he wanted that drink of water.

"Oh, no wait cher…" He put his hand out to stop her when she got right to the bottom of her bra.

She laughed. "Ok suit yourself, you'll have to wait till later now."

And she turned and kept walking with her friends leaving him dumbfounded in the street for the second time in five minutes.

She didn't sound drunk, and they only had two drinks a piece and then switched to water.

Did she really say later? He just stood there looking at her walking away.

"Come on Daryl." She called to him over her shoulder.

Finally he was able to start walking again.

This girl was full of surprises and he had six days left to convince her to marry him.

/

They arrived at the hotel and said goodnight to Tara, Andrea and Michonne. Carol was sober, they knew that and they weren't worried about her being with him. They knew she was safe. He invited them all to lunch the next day at "The Court of Two Sisters" and they would meet at twelve noon.

They started to walk back towards Bourbon St. and where he lived on St. Louis Ave Carol turned to him she leaned into his ear and whispered. "Take me to bed or loose me forever."

And he started laughing, he stopped and hugged her lifting her off the ground.

"You got it didn't you?"

She said laughing and he put her down and kissed her.

"I always wanted to say that." She said.

She wanted to say it, not she liked saying it, or had said it before. Noted.

"Top Gun pick-up lines, I like it." He smiled at her. "You are something else."

He took her hand as they walked like he had been doing it for years. She liked the feel of his hand in hers. He was something else too.

She pushed that thought away because she already didn't want to have to say good bye to him on Friday. She wanted this though for however long it would last.

"How about I call you Maverick?" She tapped his shoulder with hers as they walked.

After a few minutes he said what he had been thinking about. Because he needed to know.

"You sure about this?" He asked her, hoping he wasn't ruining it.

"Yes I am."

He stopped them on the side walk and turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I really want you." He looked at her, and the look on his face told her he wasn't lying. "Bad, but you can change your mind, all you have to do is tell me ok?"

"Ok, but I won't, I'm sure." He nodded his head as she spoke.

Then took her hand again as they walked the quiet streets with the sounds of Rue Bourbon in the distance.

"You can't handle the truth." He said.

"Wrong Movie Daryl."

"Hey." He said "I gotta ask you something else."

She continued to walk with him holding his hand, he really didn't want to ask this, but he had to.

"You have somebody, you know at home?" He said not looking at her.

"I'm not in love with him and he's not in love with me, it's a habit, more than a relationship."

He nodded his head that was a good enough answer for him, for now.

"What about you? Am I getting in someone's way?"

He stopped again and turned to her. He placed a sweet slow kiss on her lips. Beth was nothing but a bad memory to him, even before he met Carol. That was a non-issue.

"No, there's no one." He ran his finger up her cheek. "Only you."

He ran his fingers through her hair and held her head softly in his hands and kissed her again. His hands in her hair were giving her wonderful butterflies in her stomach. She fought to stay in the moment and not think about Friday. He brought her out of her thoughts quickly.

"You like to swim Carol?"

/

"Hey, we shouldn't be doing this." Carol said to him as he led her up to the rooftop pool at his hotel.

There was a garden on the roof with flowers and small trees, right off the elevator. Behind it, secluded, was a pool that wasn't really big, but the water was crystal clear. It looked so inviting on this hot night after they had been out dancing all night.

She could see the steam coming off the pool from where they stood. He had an ice bucket with a bottle of wine in his hands, which he sat on the ledge between the garden and the pool.

He led her by the hand and as they were walking out to the pool and garden area he was already peeling off his shirt.

"S'okay sugar, I know a guy who works here." He turned and winked at her. "It should be really warm too, it's heated."

He said unbuckling his pants, she walked over and started to help him unbutton his pants. Looking up at him slowly through her lashes, as she pulled the zipper down.

"Need help, hmm." She gave him her best wicked smile.

"Do you?" He said going for the button on her jeans.

He peeled the rest of his cloths of like it was nothing and jumped in. He came up out of the water as she was kicking off her shoes and taking her shirt off. The pool wasn't deep so he was able to stand up. He stood there watching her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and this was the luckiest night of his life.

"How's the water?" She asked as she was taking down her jeans.

"Nice." He said looking at her as she took off her clothes. "Oh and the water's great too."

"Very funny." She laughed and jumped in. She wanted to get in fast this was the first time she had ever done something like this.

When she came up he was right there and he wasted no time getting his arms around her.

"It's good right?" He said pulling her really close and walking her back to kiss her against the side of the pool.

"Can anyone come up here?"

"It's closed, you need a special card for the elevator, and its early in the season, people aren't swimming much yet, and not at night."

He ran his hands down her back and went in for another kiss, slow and hot.

"Don't worry, no one will come up here." He worked his way down her neck with his mouth, leaving wet kisses on her neck and collar bone over her already wet skin.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and this time he kissed her like he wanted to all night. Before they were little kisses, but this one was a toe curling masterpiece that made her want to jump up into his arms and fuck him right on the spot.

No one's kisses ever did that to her.

She understood now why some women went for younger men. Or was it him that was special?

He kept kissing her and sucking on her bottom lip, using his teeth just a little, and she let out a noise she had never heard come from her mouth before.

Something between a sigh and a groan escaped her lips and it made his dick harder than it already was.

'Calm down buddy.' He silently told his dick.

He pulled back and looked at her, searching her eyes for any doubt.

"You ok, this ok?"

She nodded and shivered a little.

"You cold?"

"Not cold." She blinked her eyes up at him trying to get the water out of her eyes.

"Want some wine." He said. "Stay there, I'll get it."

She watched him walking to the ledge where the bucket was, God, he was beautiful.

He was back in a minute and back in the pool handing her a glass.

"So I think I should tell you Carol, I intend to spend this week making you so happy that you don't want to go back to that habit you got back there in New Jersey."

He clicked his glass to hers.

"Is that so?'

They each took a sip and he nodded, looking right into her eyes. His eyes were so blue and clear, beautiful. She waited to see what kind of line he was going to throw her way.

"You make me feel different than anyone else ever has." He said.

 ** _Well, Carol thought to herself, we have that in common._**

"And I'm not stupid, Carol, I know the real thing when I see it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Props to Magenta's nightmare for part of this story, you'll figure out where. Ha**

Their first time wasn't going to be in the pool, he stopped before things got out of hand and they both got out and got dressed. The owner's rooms were outside the pool area and one floor up. By now Merle would be asleep he was sure. Not that he cared, except he didn't want Merle running his mouth about what he told him before. Or worse about her not being the first girl he brought here.

Because she was going to be the last.

Merle and Daryl shared the nicest suit in the hotel, at one time it was one of the honeymoon suites or something like that.

Now two single men lived there. Until about 33 hours ago, Daryl had been sure that's how it would always be. That was ok. Because he had never met anyone he felt like spending a great deal of time with any way.

And then she crashed into his life, literally.

His Mamma had always told him the one day he would meet the one. When he least expected it and until then he would go through girls until he met the one who went through him.

He had met her, he had never been more sure of anything in his life.

If he hadn't been late from class going to work, he would have missed her on the street, he knew that. Then they would just be two people walking around in the same city, oblivious to each other's existence.

Thinking about that made him sadder than he thought he could ever be.

But it wasn't like that and now they knew each other. He crossed himself as he thought of that, he was a good catholic boy like most of New Orleans.

But there were people who practiced voodoo as well and Santeria if you knew where to find them.

There was a common area, which was furnished much like the rest of the hotel, in French provincial. They had never gotten around to changing it. Basically just a sitting room with a balcony that looked down over the city. There was a closed door on one side of the room, Merle's room and on the other side was an open door. That was Daryl's room, which was where he was leading her.

"Can I get you anything?" He said as they were making their way across the room. There was a refrigerator on the far wall. And she shook her head.

Then they reached his door and he turned on the light. His room wasn't decorated like the outside room. This room had more of a rustic feel and his furniture and décor was done in black and beige.

Definitely masculine and the room was huge. There was a sitting area by the sliding glass door and the curtains were blowing in a nice breeze. He had called earlier and had the maid clean up and open the window.

He put the ice bucket down on the table by the balcony and turned to her. She looked at him, he hadn't put his shirt back on and his jeans were hanging low on his hips because he hadn't done his belt back up either. She hated to admit it but he made her knees weak.

"You still sure...cher?"

She leaned back against the door and smiled at him.

"Even if I wasn't every time you say that with that accent, I want to rip your clothes off." She said truthfully.

And then he was walking back towards her with a huge smile.

"I'll say anything you want, you know." He said putting both hands on either side of her head and pressing against her. She could feel how hard he was up against her leg and then he laid a scorching kiss on her. "Do anything you want too."

He hadn't lied either. She had never been with someone like him. He wasn't in a hurry and clearly was more interested in her pleasure. He explored every inch of her body as if it was a sacred thing to him. He used his hands, his fingers and his mouth to get what he wanted from her. He kissed her a lot, and _that_ was an art form.

She had not expected any of that because of his age and was getting the idea she had misjudged him in every way.

He paid attention to what she liked and what she didn't. And he made her eager to do the same for him.

She wasn't inexperienced at all, but she had never experienced this depth of emotion while being in bed with someone before.

He was also twenty six, with the energy of a man that young and he tossed her around that bed like she was a ragdoll. So much that they almost fell right off the bed.

After they stopped laughing he leaned back to look at her and said exactly what was on his mind.

"I'm in love with you." He said.

She didn't know what to say. She felt something, she just didn't know what it was yet.

"It's ok, I just wanted you to know. I still have five days left."

He kissed her again and rolled her over so that she was on top of him. He looked up at her as she sat up.

"You'll say it soon enough and you'll feel it."

/

Carol stood at the sliding door and looked out over the city. It was beautiful at night and she was so happy to have the opportunity to see it. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close to him. He kissed the back of her neck sending shivers all through her scalp and down her spine.

She liked the way his touch made her feel.

"Whatcha thinking about sugar?"

"My friend Lori, she's the reason we came here." She said as he kissed the back of her neck again. "She died six months ago, I hadn't seen her in almost ten years."

He pulled her closer and let her talk.

"So we decided to see each other more, because life is so short, she was a year younger than me and she's gone."

She expected him to be angry at her for ruining the night with her rambling, that's how Ed would have reacted.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "We can go light a candle for her at the cathedral today if you want."

She turned and looked at him, she couldn't believe what he just said.

Maybe he was perfect. Maybe she could fall in love with him.

Maybe she just did.

/

"You must be Carol." Merle said as he watched Carol looking in the refrigerator in the common area the next morning. For someone who was closer to his age than his brother's Merle thought she had a pretty good ass. He spent a few minutes looking just to be sure before he spoke to her.

She let out a scream and turned around her hand on her chest. She had a diet coke in her hand.

"Oh my God, you scared me." She said taking a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry cher, I didn't mean to scare you, you must be Carol?"

He was pretty sure she was the girl Daryl was going on about yesterday, and didn't bring over for him to meet. He hoped so, or this was going to get awkward really quick. Daryl had been known to be going on about a girl and then end up with another one. That hadn't happened in a while but you never knew with his brother. He was kind of fickle.

"You must be Merle." She smiled after she got over her fright.

"The one and only." He said looking at her. "Hmm, I can see it."

"See what?" She asked.

"What's got him all jammed up and walking around with his head in the clouds?" He said smiling more at her.

"Oh." She took a sip of the can of soda she found. She didn't really understand where he was going in this conversation. But she would let him talk.

"You put some kind of love spell on him? You been down on St. Peter's street or the ninth ward?" He said laughing.

He just asked her if she did voodoo, she didn't know whether to laugh or slap him. She went with laughing. It was funny really, she liked this guy. Daryl had told her how Merle raised him from the age of eleven, when their parents died. How Merle went to college and got a business degree, used the insurance and house money to buy the hotel, where they were right now.

"I'm not kidding cher, one look at you it seams and he's got all kinds of idea's. Even broke up with his girlfriend, I heard."

She started to say something. He didn't say he had a girlfriend, not once. Merle could tell she was getting upset.

"S'okay sugar, she had to go, if she whined one more time about him not getting her a ring, I was going to break up with her for him."

Daryl had woken up and threw on his jeans and walked across his room looking for her. He hoped she didn't leave and then he heard Merle's voice. And he practically ran out there then.

Merle turned his head from Carol and she looked at him over Merle's shoulder. She was amazed again at how attracted to him she was. He wore a belt and never buckled it, and he needed to, his pants were hanging down too low. He was doing it on purpose knowing where her eyes would go.

As if she wouldn't be looking at the rest of him. He had the broadest shoulders, but not like a body builder. He was lean and she was trying to pay attention to Merle and not undress his brother with her eyes right in front of him.

She was losing that battle too.

"Oh hey there little brother, Carol says we're all going to Two Sisters today."

/

"I bet he's a demon in bed." Andrea said to Carol on the phone later that morning as they were walking down the street together to meet them for lunch. Merle was walking behind them on his own phone.

Carol didn't answer her, because the demon was right next to her.

"Ah ha, just as I thought, is he right there? Put him on." Andrea said knowing she would never do it.

"No way, we're almost there and we brought his brother along too. Get a table for six and we'll see you soon."

/

This was the most amazing restaurant Carol had ever gone to. She was with people she loved and life was so good today. There was a band playing across the courtyard where they sat and the music was making her mood soar even higher than it was already.

The Court Of Two Sisters was owned by a man who Daryl knew really well. Glenn and his wife Maggie inherited the restaurant from her father who ran it for thirty years. Daryl knew Glenn and Maggie from high school and kept in touch. The business owners of the French Quarter looked out for each other. Especially after the hurricane. Maggie invited them out that night and Daryl accepted as long as it wasn't too late, he had class at eight am the next day.

It was outdoor dining and the day was warm and not as humid as it was usually. It would be a good day to do one of those tours if the girls wanted to. Merle was charming and talking to everyone as he always would. Where Daryl was less talkative, Merle more than made up for it.

He did pay some extra attention to Andrea too, which she loved.

She was in the market for a demon of her own.

"So what do you say ladies." Merle said. "We can catch the streetcar on up to The Garden District, walk around a bit…"

He had a feeling he was being watched, so he turned his head to the side as he was speaking.

He never got to finish what he said, he saw her before anyone else. Daryl was bringing Carol's hand up to kiss it and Merle saw the little blonde coming.

"Oh brother, here comes trouble." He said as Daryl started to turn.

And then he watched the glass of ice water, or vodka, who could know, land in Daryl's face. He couldn't resist a chuckle.

"You son of a bitch, this is what you leave **_me_** **for?"**

She pointed to Carol. "Who is this whore?"

Daryl had been wipin the vodka off his face, when she said that about Carol his gut twisted and he was about to go across the table at her. She was nasty when she drank and Carol didn't deserve to take her shit.

Merle jumped in. "Aw come on Bethie, simmer down."

"Fuck you too Merle." She roared. "Fuck you all."

And she turned and stalked off. Daryl was worried that she had just blown things for him, which was what she wanted to do. He looked at Carol, hoping she would not judge him by the company he used to keep.

"Friend of yours?" Was all she said raising her eyebrow and watched him drying his shirt with a linen napkin.

"Yeah that was Beth, told ya about her this morning cher." Merle said. "Didn't expect she would be up this early."

Carol turned to Daryl still not giving him any indication of how she felt about this latest thing that happened.

"She's a little angry, huh?" Carol said smiling.

Daryl nodded. "I guess."

"Why would you do that?" She said. "Why would you break up with her?"

"You know why." Was all he said.

 ** _A/N: The Court of Two Sisters is a wonderful restaurant on Royal St. In The French Quarter. They have a courtyard where you can dine outside and what's called a jazz brunch. It is worth the wait and the price to go there._**

 ** _Beth and Maggie aren't sisters in this because I let myself get carried away._**

 ** _Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I love you all._**


	6. Chapter 6

He smelled like Lemongrass, she finally figured it out after nearly two days together. She breathed his scent in and it made her feel happy and relaxed every time. The smell of him was like a warm summer's day at the beach and a cold glass of lemonade.

He must have used Lemongrass soap. That was one of her favorite scents, what were the odds really?

This was why she never committed to Ed, his smell was off. The attraction she felt to Daryl's scent made her head spin. When Daryl hugged her the first thing she did was take a deep breath.

It was true what they said about all the senses taking part in attraction. They eyes, to see what we like to look at, what is beautiful to our sight. The nose, smelling things that are pleasurable and familiar. The hands to touch what feels good to us.

She didn't want to think about that right now.

They stood side by side looking in the store window, the sign in the window said 'Beware of pickpockets and loose women, welcome to New Orleans.'

The music playing in the bar across the street was 'Coconut Telegraph' by Jimmy Buffet.

A small breeze blew by and she smelled it, finally recognizing it. It suited him.

"I don't understand Daryl, why would you break up with your girlfriend."

He took her hand, lacing their hands together and they followed her friends up the street. Merle was walking down the street ahead of them with one arm around Andrea and the other around Tara. He was in a deep conversation with both of them.

Michonne was talking on the phone to Rick. She was telling him about Carol meeting Daryl and how she thought Rick would really like him.

"Carol, when I saw you again, after I plowed into you on the street, I knew you weren't like any other girl I have ever known."

"But, I'm going home on Friday, I think your being too impetuous." Carol said. "You definitely are."

"I think that's what you love about me, and I think your being too buttoned up, you do know where you are right?" He waved his hand around for emphasis. "This is N'Awlins the city of impetuousness."

"Buttoned up? I hardly think going out dancing, skinny dipping and sleeping with a stranger is buttoned up." She said.

"Maybe not, but what's keeping you from staying here." He said.

She stopped in the middle of the street. What was keeping her? Her job? Ed? Neither meant a thing to her in the great scheme of things. If she did love Daryl, like he said he loved her, was it enough to uproot he whole life.

Was love enough to gamble with your entire life.

"Why do you want me to? You don't know me." She said. "We met two days ago."

"Yes, I do." He kissed her hand. "You're the one for me."

"I don't know why you feel this way."

"Because you love Kandinsky, who is by far the worst artist in history." He smiled as she was about to say something to him again about him being an art student and yet having no eye for good art. They had that conversation last night laying in his bed.

She put her hands on her hips and started to object.

"And you argue with me over art. Because you were going to flash your tits at me in the middle of Toulouse St. Because I never know what is coming out of your mouth next and I can't wait for it every time." He said.

She looked at him, she knew he was being earnest. It was his youth that made him this way. Her heart sped up at the possibilities for them. If only it could be that easy.

She was older and she knew that the answers to life weren't that easy. She had a life back home, such as it was. It was secure, familiar.

She did feel something for him, but wasn't it just the excitement of being on vacation. He was new, that was all, on Friday she would go back home with a wonderful memory.

He took out a cigarette and lit it.

"You should quit smoking, seriously Daryl." She said. "It's so bad for you."

"See you do care." He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. She did care, she would never had slept with him otherwise.

But she wasn't silly enough to think that would create a relationship, a long distance one at that.

She didn't want to think about Friday though. Friday was going to be a bad day.

"Of course I do, I just don't know how this can work." Carol said. "You shouldn't have broken up with her."

"I had to, once I knew what my intentions for you were, I'm not that guy." He said. "Beth will be fine, there's plenty of guys want to take her out."

"Still…" Carol said.

"It can work if you stay, I have plenty of money, you know that by now." He said.

"I don't care about that."

She didn't, she worked and had her own money. She worked hard for it though. But that wasn't a bad thing.

She worked a lot that was true, she was so busy working that she never got around to breaking up with Ed. She just floated through life day in and day out. Going to work and coming home, going through the motions. She worked and she surfed. There was more to life, maybe?

She could work anywhere, couldn't she?

"Exactly, you aren't after anything but me." Daryl said to her as he was inhaling his cigarette. "You're a shitty dancer, but I can't imagine dancing with anyone else now and you fucking rock my socks in the sack"

Merle turned back to them and hollered for them to catch up, the street car was coming. They were hopping it to The Garden District to walk around and look at the mansions there. Carol was excited, she loved the Greek revival homes she saw in pictures. She wondered about the lives of the people who lived in them.

Carol turned to Merle and waved, she took his hand as they hurried up the street.

"News flash Daryl, you are more than what's in your pocket at any given time, women who don't know that aren't worth your time. And I'm an ok dancer, I think shitty was way off base."

They stopped at the streetcar stop and started to walk towards the streetcar itself.

"I won't lie though, much as I think you're crazy."

"Crazy about you cher." He interrupted.

"Humph, whatever, you're just crazy, I have no doubt. But I can't wait to fuck your brains out again later, the sooner the better."

They reached the street car as the rest of their group was getting on. He turned to her and kissed her.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, you, a librarian, with that dirty mouth….I never know what the fuck you're going to say next... Totally hot."

Merle turned back and yelled. "Get a room." And cackled in his signature Merle cackle.

Daryl stared down at her ass as she was walking up the steps to the streetcar. They walked past everyone and took a seat in the back.

"It's ok cher, I know I'm wearing you down." He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

He was wearing her down. She was a practical girl, that was all.

/

Daryl walked next to Carol through the sweet smelling streets of the Garden District. The lilacs were in bloom and the scent was all through the air. He remembered his mother bringing him and Merle there as children. She said one day they would all live in one of those houses. But then the car accident happened.

They stopped on First St. this was the house in the book Carol had read. The one about the witches, he had read it too and liked it. They had talked about it last night, books and art and many other things.

He thought about this morning.

/

While Carol was in the shower that morning Merle gave him a talk. He was expecting Merle to say he was being an asshole and telling him to forget this crazy idea. Merle said just the opposite.

"Little brother, I'm not saying you should elope tonight or anything of the sort, but I like her." Merle had said.

"I like her too, more than like her. I have to figure out a way to get her to stay."

"Oh, what brother, she isn't in love with your golden dick yet." Merle had said. "She aint convinced yet."

Daryl shook his head. "You are something else."

"Hey, I'm just sayin." He shrugged. "Do what you gotta, if this girl floats your boat like you say she does. That don't happen too often, don't let it go."

So Daryl was walking down the street now holding her hand now and he wasn't letting it go. No matter what.

He knew she thought he was too young at first. Now that they had talked to each other he felt like she knew the inside of him. Which was different from the outside. He was glad he decided to walk to Jackson Square yesterday or he wouldn't have seen her again.

That wasn't really true, when she bugged out of the club on Friday, he saw her leave. He had planned to start loitering on Esplanade St, until he saw her again. Not in a creepy way, just he would walk down the street once a day and pray she was somewhere around.

There was something about her.

He was struck with a desire for café du monde Saturday morning and that was a stroke of luck.

There she sat on the steps of the cathedral, he didn't approach her right away. He looked up at the church and crossed himself.

Then he walked over to her.

/

"They sell love potions down in the quarter." Daryl said to her as they walked the pretty streets. "Imma buy one later."

She looked over at him and gave him a sweet smile.

Then she started to laugh that musical laugh he loved. And he loved. He was sure of that. Surer than ever before about anything. Love at first sight was not something he ever believed in. Not until now.

"I think you've been sprinkling that stuff around already, that girl was pissed at you." Carol laughed.

"I'm sure she's over it by now. That weren't no love match Carol. But I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

She shook her head. "You don't owe me an explanation, we just met."

"Yes I do, you were honest with me about that habit you need to break. Maybe I wasn't so honest, but in my mind, it was over with her. I never even gave it a thought. I don't want you to think I would lie to you."

"Something tells me you never would, its fine, really."

"You trust me then?"

She nodded.

"How much do you trust me? Because I have an idea."

She stopped walking and looked at him wondering just what he was up to now. It could be anything at this point. He made her smile that was for sure and with every smile he got more ingrained in her heart. Weather she wanted him too or not.

She kind of wanted him to.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: Thank you to everyone who reads this and leaves me love. A special thank you to Magenta's Nightmare for looking it over for me and as always encouraging me. Go read her stuff, she is the best._**

So how much did she trust him because he was up to something now? She trusted him, it was funny, and she had known him less than a week. But she knew him, felt like she knew him for a long time.

He took Carol by the hand and led her into an ally while everyone else was discussing the architecture of the house they were looking at. Merle knew a lot about the town's history and about these particular type of houses.

Merle loved the Greek revival type homes in this area and had read about them extensively. He had loved those long walks through these streets when he was a kid. Both with his mother and Daryl and alone. Even though he lived in the French Quarter Merle loved the Garden District most of all. As a child he wanted to live there some day. Maybe he would, if he ever met the right woman.

"I want to take you somewhere." He said kissing her. "I have something to show you."

"Oh, I know." She said laughing as he backed her up against the wall. He put both his hands over her head and smiled down at her. He had the most delightful devilish smile and when he smiled just right, dimples and he knew just how to work that.

He used that boyish charm and wielded it like a sword, he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Well, now that's a given, but I want to show you some of my work." He said. "Tonight, after dinner."

She looked up at him, past that adorable mole on his lip that made he want to kiss it every time she saw it and to his eyes. His eyes that were as blue as her beloved ocean, and just as memorizing.

"Sure, I would love that." She said. 'd be honored."

"It might surprise you a little. Are you ok with that?"

"I'm sure you're better than….."

"Don't say it." He leaned down and kissed her again. "The man was way ahead of his time."

"Really? Just what are you learning in grad school, hmmmm?" She said pushing the hair out of his eyes and putting it behind his ear. She let her fingers linger there touching his ear and he shivered.

She smiled at that. She thrilled him as much as he thrilled her. Five more days she told herself, don't fall too deep into this. No matter how much you want to, it's just not a good idea.

"I know we won't ever agree on this, we'll be fighting about it when we're old and gray I think. Its ok, I love fighting with you, I told you that." He said.

"We wouldn't fight if you would just admit you have no taste." She smiled sweetly up at him.

"Oh, trust me, I got great taste." He said slowly leaning down as if he was going to kiss her and then he stopped just as she was closing her eyes.

"Hey." She pouted and he just smiled at her. Dimples, damn him.

"But I really want to show you one piece in particular, maybe a few others."

She nodded. "Ok, I would love to see your work, something tells me you are a talented guy."

He took her by the hand and started to walk back towards the others.

"You didn't figure that out yet?" He said to her.

/

He led her up a very steep and narrow staircase in an old building in the quarter. It was on Royal St. not too far from the voodoo museum. He had this studio since he was about eighteen and old enough to sign a lease on something. He spent a lot of time there when he wasn't at school. Below the studio was a bar, and he introduced her to the owner Abraham and his wife Rosita who ran it together.

They had known Daryl for years and invited Carol to come for a drink later after they were done. Rosita made some ass kicking hurricanes Daryl had said. Carol was starting to love New Orleans signature drink, if she was honest with herself.

The stairs led to a door and he opened it with a key. It opened to a room that was much larger than she thought and as he turned on the light she lost her breath.

It was a beautiful loft. There wasn't any furniture except a wing back chair and a couch. There was also a table along the far wall and what looked like an enlarger for developing pictures.

He was a photographer too? What didn't he do when it came to the arts?

This room was full of paintings and sculptures and a few photographs that he had clearly taken as well. There were windows all around and as she looked around she saw how incredibly talented he was.

She stood and turned around in a circle taking it all in.

"Daryl, this is amazing." She said, her eyes wide.

After a few minutes he turned to her.

"I want to show you this." He took her by the hand. "You ask how I know, how I can be so sure."

He led her across the room to an area by one of the windows. This was a special area set apart from the rest of the room.

"Keep an open mind Carol, ok, promise me you will." He said as she nodded.

There was an isle and a chair with a paint pallet on it, but the picture he was painting made her gasp out loud.

"Daryl." She said softly as she looked at her own likeness staring back at her from the canvas.

The painting was of an auburn haired woman, who looked uncannily like her, standing in the garden by the rooftop pool at his hotel. She had long wavy hair and she was holding one of the flowers in the garden. She was naked from the waist up but covered by her long flowing hair.

He long flowing auburn hair, just like Carol's own hair.

She turned to him and he put his arm around her. She felt goose bumps erupt over her skin at his touch and at the sight of her own face looking back at her.

This wasn't possible.

"Been working on that for about eight months, but the dreams started a long, long time ago, so one day I started drawing her."

"But…"

"I've been sketching her and painting her since I was ten years old." He said. "I've done other work of course, but I always went back to her, it's like she was haunting me."

"But, it's me?"

"Yes, I believe it is you." He pulled her back against him. "I've been dreaming about you all my life. You keep asking how I know. This is how."

/

That night back at the hotel she laid across the bed next to Michonne and Andrea and Tara were on the opposite bed. They had decided to spend the night together, Daryl had walked then back to the hotel and then he went home.

He had an eight am class and some work he needed to finish. On Friday he thought he would have the whole weekend to do it but then he saw her in Jackson Square and that had been it.

He would text her when class was over. She and the girls were planning a cemetery tour of St. Louis cemetery number one that next morning. Then they would catch up with him and possibly Merle.

Daryl had told her a story about stranding in a hotel room at the Omni, when he was about fifteen.

He told her he saw it rain only over the cemetery they were taking a tour of tomorrow. Carol was repeating the story to her friends.

"I don't care, I still wanna go." Andrea was saying Tara was covering her head with a pillow and she rolled over.

"You guys just better not get me killed that's all I'm saying." Tara said.

"So, I have to tell you guys something." Carol said.

"Did you secretly marry him, because I wouldn't put it past him….." Andrea said.

Carol shook her head. Nope, not yet. What?

"That boy has it bad for you." Michonne said. "He's acting like Rick did, when we first got together."

"He took me to his studio." Carol said.

Tara sat up. "He has a studio?"

"Yes where he paints and sculpts and sketches."

"Oh dude are you missing out on the best line ever. This is too good." Tara said laying back. "Draw me like one of your French girls, Jack."

She threw her hand over her head with a flourish and they all erupted in laughter. Leave it to Tara to come up with that reference. They had spent plenty of time crying over that movie. They threw around a few more Titanic references with glee. This was too good, for sure.

"He has." She said.

They all stopped talking and looked at her.

"What?" Andrea said. "You weren't gone that long?"

"He has about fifteen sketches and a painting he's been working on for eight or nine months. It's me."

"But he didn't know you." Michonne said.

"He said he's been dreaming of me for a long time. It's me alright." She took out her phone and showed them a picture of the painting and of a few sketches he had done. One of them had his signature and a date of six years ago. It was without a doubt her.

"Carol, do you believe in fate?" Andrea said.

"No." She said.

"Well you better start because this picture is you and he said he's been dreaming about you for how long?" Andrea said, he voice full of amazement.

"Fifteen years."

"Holy shit." All three of her friends said at once.

/

The four of them took the walking tour through the St. Louis cemetery the next day. The tour guide was explaining about the movies that had been filmed on the grounds and about the famous graves that were there. A few that they had heard of and a few they didn't.

All cemeteries in New Orleans were above ground, because the water table was so low, in heavy rain, before they buried above ground, it was messy. That was a quote from the tour guide.

The girls were carrying on a different conversation entirely. Tara was convinced, like Andrea that this was some kind of fate at work. That New Orleans had worked some kind of magic on Daryl and Carol. It explained why he pursued her so relentlessly and why he was convinced they belonged together.

Carol had to admit, it was slowly turning her opinion of this whole situation. She looked to Michhone for the voice of reason and she just shrugged.

"Have him sketch you in real time Carol, I would love to see how it comes out." Tara said as they walked through the cemetery.

They followed the guide who was dressed in a top hat and tails and he was now talking about a tour that he did at night through the streets of the French Quarter. He turned to the four girls, and the crowd behind them.

Taking off his hat in a flourish he said. "I invite you tonight ladies, if you dare, to walk the streets that vampires walk." As he tipped his hat over in front of them and winked.

Four days.

/

Daryl and Merle agreed to take the tour with them even though they had both done it before. Daryl was looking forward to scaring Carol a little on the tour, he knew all the places and he was sure all he would have to do is tickle her during one of the stories. It was going to be his mission that night to make her scream, on the tour and then later that night too. He missed her the night before that she spent with the girls.

She had agreed to spend the night with him and then she said she wanted him to sketch her. In real time, she was curious as to what it would come out like.

 ** _A/N: I actually did see it rain over that particular cemetery while standing in my hotel room. I had just taken the tour and it wasn't raining anywhere else but there. It was dry during the whole tour and didn't rain until I was back at my hotel. It was on my birthday also which was doubly intriguing. I encourage anyone who has the chance to visit, New Orleans, it is a trip of a lifetime._**


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

 ** _A/N: This is a long update, but guess what? I finished it, I actually finished a story. I feel like going out dancing. LOL Let me know what you think._**

Carol didn't usually go for romance, or rather, it had never been part of her life before. She never met anyone that made her feel this way before and it was terrifying. They went on the night tour all of them together and Merle showed up too. Carol was pretty sure he was trying to make time with Andrea, and again the thoughts went through her head.

We leave on Friday, she lives in Ohio, did these two go through all the women in New Orleans and now they had to import them?

She wasn't anything special, but he made her feel that way.

She couldn't ignore the portrait either, did she believe in fate? In this city?

It could be possible. As Daryl held her hand and they walked through the night streets listening to Daryl's friend Tyreese weave tale of murder and mayhem in the French Quarter, she wondered.

He brain told her she was being reckless and that she would regret it, she could not turn that voice in her head off.

He wanted her to stay, he told her as much.

He offered to rent her a place if she didn't want to live with him right away, he was truly too good to be true.

Carol turned to him during the tour and looked at him in the light of the streetlights.

"Are you just a ghost? One of the New Orleans spirits I hear Tyreese talking about?" She asked.

He laughed and leaned down and kissed her.

"That feel like a spirit?"

She shook her head.

"Didn't think so."

He took her hand again and started walking to catch up to everyone.

"I can't stay you know." She said suddenly and he turned back, placing his finger on her lips to shhhhhh her.

"Shhhhh, I still have three days. "He said and pulled her along the cobblestone street.

The tour ended at Jean Lafitte's a local bar that everyone who lived there avoided, but the tourists loved it. They sat and had a few drinks with Tyreese and his partner Karen and went their separate ways. Merle took, Tara, Michonne and Andrea to Bourbon St.

Carol and Daryl went to his studio to do the sketch. She felt funny because he asked her to lie on the couch by the window and her pulled a chair up in front of it and sat down. He had his sketch book and pencils and a table right next to him.

"Is it ok to talk?" She asked and he nodded already totally engrossed in what he was doing.

"Do you sketch live models often?" She asked.

He looked up at her over the sketchbook. "Only in class, smooth Carol?'

And she laughed. She had been fishing for information and she didn't know why really. He had a life before he met her and he would have one again. If he brought other women or models up here it wasn't her business.

"Are you thirsty Carol, warm enough?"

She nodded, still feeling like an idiot laying there. This was not the kind of thing she did. And yet she was concerned that he did it all the time. This was the whole problem with them, how could she have a long distance thing with him, but how could she leave either?

"I'm fine."

"Take off your shirt."

She just looked at him, she had half expected him to ask that, and was surprised it took this long actually.

"Please?" He smiled at her.

"Really?"

"Yes really." He waited. "Only if you want to though."

She considered it a minute and then took her shirt and bra off and she didn't miss the grin that went across his face either.

/

It took him an hour to sketch her and she was floored by how beautiful it had come out. When he drew her, both tonight and the pictures he had done before they met, she was stunned by the way he captured not just her likeness, but something more.

He was a talented artist, this much was true, but the way he drew her stunned her. He loved her. It was clear in every stroke of the pencil that he put to paper. Clear too, in the brush strokes in the painting he did of a woman he dreamed about.

If he dreamed of her, why hadn't she dreamed of him?

He was the stuff dreams were made of that was for sure. She watched him as he sketched her, the way his hands and arms moved was hypnotizing. The way he looked at her, his eyes so clear and blue, like her own.

Finally, when he was finished he held the sketch up for her to see. It took her breath away, he had drawn himself, in the sketch next to her on the couch and he was kissing her cheek.

She wanted to cry, but instead she said. "Time for you to lose your shirt now."

She watched him as he put the sketch pad down and pulled his shirt over his head. He shut off the light, but the moon was shining, along with the street lights.

Then he was walking towards her, unbuckling his pants smiling that smile she was sure was just for her.

He settled down next to her and kissed her, swiping his tongue into her mouth like they had been doing this for years. His hands knew right where to go on her body and just what to do.

They fell asleep after, right there on the couch in his studio, their bodies entwined with each other, their breathing in rhythm together. The lights from the street the only light in the room.

Carol woke up some time later, listening to his steady breathing next to her. She glanced over at the clock, it was after midnight on Tuesday. It was now Wednesday morning.

Two days left.

/

They spent Wednesday and Thursday with their friends and Merle. Every place they went he insisted on taking a picture on her phone for her to have when she went home. Because she was going home. This whole week might be just like some damn romance novel, but she had to be practical and he understood.

She would go home and they would see what happened. He was no longer trying to convince her to stay, because he knew that would just ruin what time they had left.

Wednesday and Thursday were a haze of food, dancing, pictures and selfies and a whole lot of sex.

The perfect vacation actually and he never left her side except to go to class.

The girls were intimately acquainted with Bourbon St. now thanks to Daryl and Merle and Carol was intimately acquainted with what she could have if she just snapped her fingers.

She couldn't take it, what he was offering, not after less than one week. She was far too practical for that.

If it was real, it would last the separation.

Her flight was four thirty on Friday and the other girls also had flights for around the same time. They were taking a cab to the airport.

Andrea wouldn't let Merle take her and Carol wouldn't let Daryl take her either, plus he had to work. He offered to call out but she refused. She didn't want some kind of tearful good bye at the airport.

They said good bye on Friday morning before Daryl went to class, with no definite plans to see each other again because that was the way she wanted it.

She also asked him not to call for a few days, so she could get back in the swing of her real life and see just where he fit in, if at all.

As Andrea was telling Carol at the gate for her flight that Merle was flying to Ohio that weekend, Tara was crooning into the phone to Alisha and Michhone was texting Rick. Carol realized this was going to be the hardest thing she ever did.

They all said goodbye as they headed for their opposite gates and promised to get together more often. Lori would have wanted that and it would be such a wonderful way to honor her. A trip every year, for the four of them.

This was the test of all tests for her.

/

Daryl rode down the street on his bike after class and on his way to work at The Cat. He turned onto Esplanade and realized this was where he crashed into the literal girl of his dreams last Friday. She wasn't there now, she vanished like a ghost, and he had woken up from the dream.

He stopped and stood there a minute, just up the street from her hotel, where his carelessness and hurry had changed his life forever.

How he wished he could go back in time and meet her again, maybe if he had another chance he could have gotten her to stay.

As if on cue, he heard a plane fly overhead and he raised one hand in a slight wave, then got back on his bike and rode it on to work.

This was going to be a long night. A long few days and maybe a long life.

/

Of course the bar was crowded to the hilt and there was no place to move or even time to go out for a cigarette and he fucking needed one. His mood was foul and he asked himself once again why he did this. He didn't need the money and half of the people here were being total assholes tonight. He could only bring the drinks as fast as they were made and if people couldn't wait they should just go to one of the alcohol lines on Bourbon.

Merle was stopping by later because he knew Daryl was upset. They had discussed it last night, they were going to eat after his shift and have a brother to brother talk. That was Merle, taking care of him as always.

But right now he had to wade through obnoxious tourists and music that was too loud. It was only six o'clock.

Finally he squeezed behind the bar and lit a cigarette, taking a long drag on it. He busied himself washing glasses with the cigarette in his mouth.

He looked up when the door opened for some reason. He thought he heard Merle, but he wasn't due there yet. He looked up and the cigarette dropped out of his mouth, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

Carol was standing there, and Merle was behind her. She had texted her friends as soon as she sat down at the gate.

 ** _I can't do it, I can't leave.-Carol_**

 ** _So don't- Michonne_**

 ** _I knew it-Tara_**

 ** _I can't believe I'm doing this.-Carol_**

 ** _Lighten up Francis, do something reckless for once-Tara_**

 ** _What if it's a mistake-Carol_**

 ** _It isn't a mistake, that boy loves you-Michonne_**

 ** _Call Merle he'll come get you.-Andrea_**

 ** _My plane just left, I'm still here.-Carol_**

 ** _You just sit tight, there sugar, I'm on my way-Merle_**

He literally jumped over the bar and ran to her, pulling her into a hug that swung her around. He stood there kissing her and breathing her in. Still not believing she was really standing there. He called to the other bartender that he was going on break and they went outside.

"Where did you come from?" He asked her.

"I couldn't get on the plane, I called Merle to come get me."

And he hugged her again. "I'm never letting you go."

And the three of them walked down the street together in the soft twilight of the night.

On June 9th, with all her friends back in town and with Merle there as well. Carol and Daryl got married at the city clerk's office. Andrea caught the bouquet and Michonne's husband Rick met Daryl for the first time.

It was a good day.

She signed Merle's pre nup without batting an eye and less than a month after they met they took the biggest chance they ever could in life.

It was New Orleans after all, where she met someone on her father's birthday.

Had her father thrown him in her path because he was just what she needed, even if she didn't know it at the time?

She would never know the answer to that but this town could make a believer out of even a sceptic like her.

A/N: This is the first story I have finished. I hope it wasn't too rushed. I was just dying to end it because I had the ending planned out for a long time. I wrote on the fly a lot, But usually I have some kind of plan. It's getting there that's the trouble hahaha, Thank you for reading.


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